Arch Support Insole for Shoes

ABSTRACT

An arch support insole includes a basic body made from soft flexible material having a top surface, a heel support portion in form of crescent moon shape and projecting upward from the top surface and a palm support portion in front of the heel support portion. The heel support portion has two distal ends that gradually increase in thickness toward a center area thereof thereby forming a curved surface with an apex at the center area which is spaced from the top surface of the basic body at 5 mm˜9 mm and wherein the palm support portion has an upwardly curved top surface with a topmost point which is spaced from the top surface of the basic body at 1 mm˜6 mm.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an insole, more particularly to archsupport insoles which is adapted to be utilized in shoes and which caneliminate sole pains caused due to the wearer during walking operation.

2. Description of the Prior Art

It is said that when a man is walking, his feet must bear a burden of0.8˜1.2 times of the body weight. Since the reaction force of the footfrom the ground is applied on the palm or arch of the foot sole, knee orbackbone, it is generally advisable to insert insoles within a pair ofshoes to absorb the shock of the foot, thereby avoiding the sole problemcaused due to long term impact of the foot against the ground duringwalking.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,140,126 has proposed an arch support insole, whichgenerally provides cushion effect to the wearer. The arch support insoleis generally made from rubber material, such as silicone, to counteractthe reaction force of the ground and to absorb the impact of footagainst the ground during walking. However, it is noted that the cushioneffect and the impact absorption ability is limited.

A human foot includes generally a forefoot, an aft foot and a midfoot(arched foot) bridging the two and is upwardly arched so that in thenormal condition the midfoot provides springy, elastic structure and toabsorb shock. Since a conventional shoe includes a traditional insolethat does not provide support at the midfoot except the heel and toes, aman's foot suffers from fatigue due to over work, long time walking orstanding in unbalanced position, hence causing plantar fasciitis.

It is notice that for walking forward or backward, it is the toe or heelportion that exerts pressure against the ground to provide friction formoving forward and rearward direction. Owing to upwardly archedsituation of the midfoot, a clearance is defined between the midfoot andthe insole disposed the shoe. In addition to workout or unbalancedstanding position, the wearer of the shoes may suffer from foot pain, ifthe pair of shoes he is wearing is not provided with support insoles.The condition can get worse, if he has flat foot caused by collapse ofarch of foot with the entire sole of foot coming into complete ornear-complete contact with a flat surface.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main objective of the present invention is to provide an archsupport insole for use within a pair of shoes so that the insole canabsorb the shock of feet while walking so as to eliminate or reduce thepain caused by a traditional insole.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide an arch supportinsole for use within a pair of shoes so that the insole can providecomfortable feeling while walking so that the wearer does not feel painsas he encountered in the past.

The arch support insole of the present includes a basic body made fromsoft flexible material having a top surface, a heel support portion inform of crescent moon shape and projecting upward from the top surfaceand a palm support portion in front of the heel support portion. Thearrangement of the heel of a human foot has an angle with respect to thefront foot part. In order to provide comfort feeling upon touching withthe basic body once the wearer puts on the shoes provided with the archsupport insoles of the present invention, the heel support portion isergonomically formed at a specific angle with respect to the top surfaceof the basic body and a first distance with respect to the top surfaceof the basic body. The palm support portion has an upwardly curved topsurface with a topmost point, which is spaced from the top surface ofthe basic body at a second distance so as to provide the maximum comfortto the wearer.

Preferably, the abovementioned soft flexible material is selected from agroup consisting of thermoplastic rubber (TPR), thermoplastic elastomer(TPE), thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU), silicone, poron, polyurethane,ethylene vinyle acetate (EVA), sponge and rubber, from which the archsupport insole thereof is produced via injection or extrusion process sothat the heel support and the palm support portion have contoursconforming with the profile with the forefoot and the aft foot of thewearer's foot. In one embodiment, the heel support portion is in theform of crescent moon shape and has two distal ends that graduallyincrease in thickness toward a center area thereof, thereby forming acurved surface with an apex at the center area, which is spaced from thetop surface of the basic body at the first distance. The first distanceranges from 5 mm˜9 mm. The palm support portion has an upwardly curvedtop surface with a topmost point, which is spaced from the top surfaceof the basic body at 1 mm˜6 mm.

It is notice that the heel of a human foot has an angle with respect tothe front foot part. In order to provide comfort feeling upon touchingwith the basic body once the wearer puts on the shoes provided with thearch support insoles of the present invention, the heel support portionis ergonomically formed at a specific angle with respect to the topsurface of the basic body. To be more specific, the basic body definesan imaginary longitudinal axis extending symmetrically through a centralportion thereof. The heel support portion has an imaginary radius froman axis owing to configuration of the crescent moon shape defining anacute angle in cooperation with the imaginary longitudinal axis of thebasic body. In one embodiment, the acute angle ranges from 4°˜9°.

It is discovered that when a profile of the heel support portion isspaced apart from a profile of the palm support portion at 31.8 mm˜35 mmprovides the maximum comfortable feeling to a wearer due to the reasonsthat once the wearer's foot is placed on the arch support insole of thepresent invention, the toes and heel of the wearer's foot are fullysupported by the heel support portion and the palm support portion. Inother words, the wearer does not easily fatigued owing to absorption ofthe shock by the arch support insole of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of this invention will become moreapparent in the following detailed description of the preferredembodiments of this invention, with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an arch support insole of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a top planar view of the arch support insole of the presentinvention shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the arch support insole of thepresent invention taken along Line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the arch support insole of thepresent invention taken along Line 4-4 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the arch support insole of thepresent invention taken along Line 5-5 in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6 a cross-sectional view of the arch support insole of the presentinvention coated with a protection layer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 6, wherein FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of anarch support insole of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a top planarviews of the arch support insole of the present invention shown in FIG.1; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the arch support insole of thepresent invention taken along Line 3-3 in FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is across-sectional view of the arch support insole of the present inventiontaken along 4-4 Line in FIG. 2; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of thearch support insole of the present invention taken along Line 5-5 inFIG. 2; and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the arch support insoleof the present invention coated with a protection layer.

As illustrated above, an arch support insole of the present inventionincludes one piece integral basic body 1 made from soft flexiblematerial, having a top surface, a heel support portion 11 in form ofcrescent moon shape and projecting upward from the top surface and apalm support portion 12 in front of the heel support portion 11, whereinthe heel support portion 11 has two distal ends 111 that graduallyincrease in thickness toward a center area thereof, thereby forming acurved surface with an apex 112 at the center area, which is spaced fromthe top surface of the basic body 1 at a first distance 11B. In thisembodiment, the first distance 11B is preferably between 5 mm˜9 mm,which provides the maximum comfortable feeling to a wearer.

From FIG. 2, it is observed that the rear part of the basic body 1 islarger that the front part in width and is designed to be curved so asto conform to the outer periphery of the heel of the wearer. The basicbody 1 has a longitudinal length substantially equivalent to a lengthmeasured from the forefoot to the aft foot proximate to the midfoot issuitable.

The arrangement of the heel of a human foot has an angle with respect tothe front foot part. In order to provide comfort feeling upon touchingwith the basic body 1 once the wearer puts on the shoes provided withthe arch support insoles of the present invention, the heel supportportion 11 is ergonomically formed at a specific angle with respect tothe top surface of the basic body 1. To be more specific, the basic body1 defines an imaginary longitudinal axis 1A extending symmetricallythrough a central portion thereof. The heel support portion 11 has animaginary radius 11A from an axis 11C owing to configuration of thecrescent moon shape defining an acute angle θ in cooperation with theimaginary longitudinal axis 1A of the basic body 1. In this embodiment,the acute angle θ ranges from 4°˜9°.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the palm support portion 12 is located infront of the heel support portion 11, has an upwardly curved top surfacewith a topmost point 121, which is spaced apart from the top surface ofthe basic body 1 at a second distance 12A. In this embodiment, thesecond distance 12A preferably ranges from 1 mm˜6 mm, which provides themaximum comfortable feeling to a wearer.

On the other hand, in order to provide the maximum comfort to thewearer, some experiments are conducted and the arch support insole ofthe present invention is developed based on the achieved results. It isdiscovered that when a profile of the heel support portion 11 is spacedapart from a profile of the palm support portion 12 at 31.8 mm˜35 mmprovides the maximum comfortable feeling to a wearer due to the reasonsthat once the wearer's foot is placed on the arch support insole of thepresent invention, the toes and heel of the wearer's foot are fullysupported by the heel support portion 11 and the palm support portion12. In other words, the wearer does not easily fatigued owing toabsorption of the shock by the arch support insole of the presentinvention.

The abovementioned soft flexible materials is selected from a groupconsisting of thermoplastic rubber (TPR), thermoplastic elastomer (TPE),thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU), silicone, poron, polyurethane,ethylene vinyle acetate (EVA), sponge and rubber, from which the archsupport insole thereof is produced via injection or extrusion process sothat the heel support 11 and the palm support portion 12 have contoursconforming with the profile with the forefoot and the aft foot of thewearer's foot.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the arch support insole of thepresent invention coated with a protection layer. As illustrated,depending of the requirement of the condition, a protection layer 2 iscoated over the top surface of the basic body 1, thereby covering theheel support portion 11 and the palm support portion 12. The materialfor the protection layer 2 is selected from group consisting of clothingor other material so long as the latter provides thickness and waterabsorption ability. An adhesive is applied to the protection layer 2 andthe top surface of the basic body 1, after which, the assembly is put ina mold for undergoing molding procession so as to form one integralpiece.

While the invention has been described in connection with what isconsidered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it isunderstood that this invention is not limited to the disclosedembodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements includedwithin the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

What is claimed is:
 1. An arch support insole comprising: one pieceintegral basic body made from soft flexible material having a topsurface, a heel support portion in form of crescent moon shape andprojecting upward from said top surface and a palm support portion infront of said heel support portion, wherein said heel support portionhas two distal ends that gradually increase in thickness toward a centerarea thereof thereby forming a curved surface with an apex at saidcenter area which is spaced from said top surface of said basic body at5 mm˜9 mm and wherein said palm support portion has an upwardly curvedtop surface with a topmost point which is spaced from said top surfaceof said basic body at 1 mm˜6 mm.
 2. The arch support insole according toclaim 1, wherein said basic body defines an imaginary longitudinal axisextending symmetrically through a central portion thereof, said heelsupport portion having an imaginary radius owing to configuration of thecrescent moon shape defining an acute angle ranging 4°˜9° in cooperationwith said imaginary longitudinal axis of said basic body.
 3. The archsupport insole according to claim 1, wherein a profile of said heelsupport portion is spaced apart from a profile of said palm supportportion at 31.8 mm˜35 mm.
 4. The arch support insole according to claim2, wherein a profile of said heel support portion is spaced apart from aprofile of said palm support portion at 31.8 mm˜35 mm along saidimaginary longitudinal axis.
 5. The arch support insole according toclaim 3, further comprising a protection layer coated on said topsurface of said basic body, thereby covering said heel support portionand said palm support portion.